Turkey's Akfen Renewables secures EBRD debt for 327 MW of wind, solar

Wind turbines. Source: EBRD (www.ebrd.com).

September 11 (Renewables Now) - The renewables arm of Turkish conglomerate Akfen Holding will get up to USD 102 million (EUR 88m) in debt from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to add fresh wind and solar power capacity totalling 327 MW.

Up to USD 50 million of the financing package will go for the construction of four wind parks with a combined capacity of 242 MW. Namely, those are the 99-MW Ucpinar, the 26-MW Kocalar and 51-MW Hasanoba plants in Canakkale province, northwestern Turkey, as well as the 66-MW Denizli wind farm in the province wind the same name, in the southwestern part of the country. The combined output of the plants is expected to save around 340,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually.

In addition, Akfen Renewables, or Akfen Yenilenebilir Enerji as it is known in Turkey, will obtain up to USD 52 million to construct nine photovoltaic (PV) parks totalling 85 MW at five locations across Turkey.

Akfen Renewables, which owns and operates wind, solar and hydropower plants, aims to have 1 GW of renewable capacity by 2020. In line with that goal, it plans to make further investments and potential acquisitions, “especially in the wind power sector, in the forthcoming period,” said CEO Kayril Karabeyoglu.

The EBRD and the World Bank’s IFC are among Akfen Renewables’ minority shareholders, each holding a 15.98% stake.

Veselina Petrova is one of SeeNews Renewables most experienced green energy writers. For several years she has been keeping track of game-changing events both large and small projects and across the globe.